


ESTIMATE WIDTH OF WORLD

by MixolydianGrey



Category: Colossal Cave Adventure, Edna St. Vincent Millay - Works
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-01
Updated: 2014-01-01
Packaged: 2018-01-07 01:59:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1114193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MixolydianGrey/pseuds/MixolydianGrey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The world is about as wide as the heart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	ESTIMATE WIDTH OF WORLD

LOOK

You see three long mountains and a wood.

TURN AROUND

You see three islands in a bay.

TRACE LINE OF HORIZON

You see three long mountains and a wood.

SEE MORE

You cannot see over these things.

TOUCH THESE THINGS

What, with your bare hand?

Y

You cannot quite touch these things.  
Your breath comes short, and scarce at all.

LIE ON BACK

You lie upon your back.  
You see the sky.

LOOK SKY

You look your fill into the sky.  
The top of the sky is here.

LOOK TOP OF SKY

You see the top of the sky.  
It is not so grand.

TOUCH SKY

You reach up your hand.  
You feel your hand touch the sky.

SCREAM

You scream.  
Infinity is here.  
Infinity comes down and settles over you.  
Infinity forces back your scream into your chest.  
Infinity bends back your arm upon your breast.  
The Undefined is here.  
Immensity made manifold is here.

LOOK IMMENSITY MADE MANIFOLD

Like you have a choice?

LISTEN

You hear whispering.  
Friendly Spheres are here.  
You hear gossiping.  
You hear creaking.  
You hear ticking.

LISTEN TICKING

You hear the ticking of Eternity.  
The Universe is here.

LOOK UNIVERSE

The Universe is cleft to the core.

PROBE UNIVERSE

Are you sure you want to do that?

PROBE UNIVERSE

You probe the universe.  
You have omniscience.  
You must pay the toll for omniscience.

WHY?

You must pay the toll for omniscience.

PAY TOLL

You have infinite remorse of soul.

INVENTORY

You have all sin.  
You have all atoning.  
You have the gall of all regret.  
You have the weight of every brooded wrong.  
You have the hate that stands behind each envious thrust.  
You have every greed.  
You have every lust.

MOURN

Mourn for whom?

MOURN FOR ALL

You mourn for all.  
You see a man starving in Capri.  
You see a great fog bank.  
Two ships are here.

LOOK SHIPS

The two ships strike and sink.

SCREAM

You scream as with a thousand screams.

INVENTORY

You have hurt.  
You have death.  
You have each last breath.  
You have compassion.  
You have all suffering.  
You have all suffering's rod.  
You have pity.  
Infinity is here.  
Infinity presses down on you.  
You suffer death.

DIE?

You cannot die.

DIE

You cannot die.  
Time passes.

LIE ON BACK

You are already lying on your back.  
The earth gives way beneath you.  
You sink into the earth.

WHERE

You are six feet under ground.  
You are lying on your back.  
Your tortured soul is here.  
A great weight leaves.  
Your tortured soul bursts forth.

LOOK TORTURED SOUL

Your tortured soul has fled.  
Dust is here.

LOOK DUST

Dust is swirling all about you.

REST

You rest deep in the earth.

DIE.

You are apparently already dead.  
You are glad.  
The pitying rain is here.

LISTEN RAIN

You hear each pattering hoof.  
It has a friendly sound.

LOOK

You are in a grave.

WHO

You are here.  
The pitying rain is here.  
There is no one else here.

KISS FINGERS OF RAIN

You'd have to be alive to do that.

CRY OUT

To whom?

CRY OUT TO GOD

What do you want to cry out to God?

GIVE ME NEW BIRTH

Anything else?

AND PUT ME BACK UPON THE EARTH

Heavy rain pours down.  
Your grave is washed away from you.  
You are upon the earth.  
You hear something.

LISTEN

You hear a sound as of some joyous elf singing sweet songs to please himself.

LOOK ELF

There is no elf here.

LOOK ELF

It's a simile, silly.  
You feel a sense of glad awakening.  
The grass is here.  
The grass is whispering to you.  
The rain is here.  
An apple-tree is here.  
Your soul is here.

BREATHE SOUL BACK IN

Do you know how such things can be?

N

OK. You breath your soul back into you.

SPRING UP

You spring up from the ground.

HAIL EARTH

You hail the earth with a glad cry.  
You see someone here.

LOOK SOMEONE

Someone is disguised.

LOOK DISGUISE

The disguise is dark.

LOOK CAREFULLY DISGUISE

You penetrate the dark disguise.  
You discern God's radiant identity.  
God is here.

TOUCH GOD

You cannot touch God.

PUSH GRASS APART

You push the grass apart.  
You lay your finger on God's heart.

LOOK E

The world stands out on this side.

LOOK W

The world stands out on this side too.

ESTIMATE WIDTH

Of what?

ESTIMATE WIDTH OF WORLD

The world is about as wide as the heart.

LOOK UP

The sky is here.

ESTIMATE HEIGHT OF SKY

The sky is about as high as the soul.

LOOK

You see the sea.  
You see the land.  
You see the sky.

PUSH SEA AND LAND APART

With what, your bare heart?

Y

You push the sea and land farther away on either hand.

SPLIT SKY

With what?

SPLIT SKY WITH SOUL

You split the sky in two with your soul.  
God is here.  
You see the face of God shine through.  
East and West are still here.  
The sky is still here.

INVENTORY

You have a soul.

LOOK SOUL

Your soul is not flat right now. Good thing, too.


End file.
